Chapter 56
Chapter Fifty-Six
D id I sleep with Tim, you might be wondering? No, I didn’t. I won’t lie; I’d thought that maybe I might. That maybe we might help heal each other – two lost souls trying to find something, even though it wasn’t there (between us, I mean). Actually, I thought that he would have been good for Una, if he hadn’t lived on the other side of the world. He was her type, blonde, and active, confident in a non-arrogant kind of way. And she would have probably pulled him out of his grief with her no-bullshit ways. Yes, they would have made a good couple, and it was a shame they would never meet, but I’d told Tim he was welcome in Drangan any time and he’d told me he would definitely look me up if he ever found himself in Ireland. I’d set them up then, I promised myself.
I booked my flights as soon as I’d got back to Irish Eyes Lodge. It was as easy as that. There was no panic, no fear, no stress at all (probably because I was drunk) but I did it, not Una, not Niall, not Mairéad. Me.
My eyes were heavy by the time I’d sorted out my route home. And I was about to close them when my mind drifted to Niall. Why had I heard him in the cave? Why had I been so sure he was there, when he hadn’t been there at all?
I reached for my phone.
Niall? Are you there?
Yes, everything OK?
I think so.
Did you do the caves?
Yes.
Did you feel anything?
What do you mean?
It was a strange question to ask me – wouldn’t he have asked me if I enjoyed myself? What I thought of the glowworms? The waterfall? The river that ran through it?
Were you scared?
Yes, I was scared.
What bit scared you?
You know what bit – the small spaces and the dark.
I know but did anything happen?
Niall, why are you asking me that?
Did it?
Yes, it did as a matter of fact.
What happened?
I got stuck between a gap in the cave that we had to go through, and I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see anything, and then…
Then what?
You’re going to think I’m really strange.
Try me.
I heard your voice.
Mine?
Yes, I heard it like you were literally there right next to me.
What was I saying?
You were telling me to be quiet.
What else?
You were telling me to count to ten and to keep my eyes closed and not to look.
Look at what?
I don’t bloody know! You tell me – you seem to know what happened…
You don’t remember?
Remember what?
What happened?
What are you talking about, Niall? Do you mean in the cave?
No, not in the cave, in the shop, when we were younger.
What do you mean in the shop? What happened in the shop?
I’m not sure now’s the best time to tell you, Pearl.
Tell me what, Niall? You’re being really annoying. Just tell me!
When are you flying home?
The day after tomorrow.
I’ll tell you when you get back to Drangan.
You can’t do that!
Have a safe trip back.
Niall!
Goodnight, Pearl.